Melanie recalls that someone was asking for some kind of resource to help those who want to participate in the Novus Ordo in Latin. She found this book and CD called “Understanding Latin,” which is described as thus:
Explore the meaning of the Latin words of the Mass with this book and its accompanying audio CD. Each word of the Latin Novus Ordo Mass is translated literally, and the form by which you would look it up in a Latin dictionary is given. Then, to help you remember the meaning of the Latin word, the author gives you English words which come from the Latin word. For example, Dominus means “Lord, master,” and an English word which comes from dominus is dominate, the way a master would dominate his domain.
Understanding the Latin Mass is unique in its audio-lingual approach to learning the meaning of the Mass, and in its thoroughness. This is not a loose translation, but a digging down into the Latin itself, to understand each Latin word from the “inside.”
This could be very handy for priests who want to re-introduce Latin in their parishes without necessarily going back to the Tridentine Mass. (Oh boy, I’m going to get comments for that remark.)
I developed my own language study tool at semi-fluent.com in part to help people learn liturgical Latin. In some ways it’s less user-friendly than this program, but it might make a good complement to this and other study regimens.
The first parish when I am pastor will love-hate me for the Novus Ordo Latin Masses I will have. But who knows when that will be. I’ll probably do a Mass in ASL before I ever do a public Latin Mass.
Dom,
You can have it your way. I don’t care. The more Latin, the better. I believe that it could be that one might need to take Latin in baby steps, ie, NO to the TLM.
By the way, I have never heard of a clown Mass or a Dignity Mass in Latin. I guess that the language of the Church does not lend it self to “free for alls.”